Location: Lincoln Middle School Grade: 6th grade general science Date of Visit: October 7, 2013
Observation/Reflection #3: A Matter of Style Observe a laboratory activity or base your answer on past visits. How does your CT conduct a typical laboratory activity? How does he or she open the activity and organize student groups? How do students learn what they're expected to do during the period? Reflect on your reading about inquiry and your experience with the NECAP inquiry task. How did the laboratory activity you observe prepare students for the type of activities that might show up on the NECAP in the future? What inquiry elements would you strengthen? What science practices do you want to stress when you're teaching?
Observation: When I arrived at Lincoln Middle School on this day, the students were finishing a week-long laboratory experiment that they had started during the previous week. The experiment involved using different types of paper to make paper airplanes, and then evaluating how well they flew based on the distance they traveled. The purpose of the experiment was to determine which type of paper was conducive to creating the “best” paper airplane. All of these instructions, as well as a guided laboratory report, were on a handout that the students were given the previous week when the activity started. This experiment was an exercise in measuring mass and distance, while also activating students’ creativity, as they were allowed to design and make the paper airplanes in any way that they chose. Students worked in groups of three in each of the four classes. The teacher uses a Web site that takes a class roster and randomly assigns them to groups. She said that this is, in her opinion, the best way to assign groups because it is 100% randomized and, as a result, the students rarely complain about with whom they are grouped. Once the students met with their groups, they did one of two activities: 1) finished testing their paper airplanes in the hallways or cafeteria, or 2) started graphing their data in the classroom. The groups went to their assigned locations and the teacher then walked between the various hallways, cafeteria, and the classroom monitoring the students. When I asked why the students were allowed to go to different areas of the school without constant supervision, the teacher explained that the new security systems in place at the school constitute a school resource officer that is constantly patrolling the halls as well as a sophisticated security camera system that monitors every hallway and common area in the building. Therefore, if the students misbehaved, they knew that they were on camera and would be immediately disciplined.
Reflection: While I am a strong advocate for inquiry-based learning, I must admit that I have no experience with the NECAP inquiry task because I did not go to public school. However, after doing some research on these tasks, I can see that many of the tasks given in the past seem to mimic laboratory experiments while also incorporating skills in scientific literacy and mathematics. The experiment that I observed at Lincoln Middle School can prepare students for the type of inquiries that may show up on the NECAP in the future by teaching students the standard structure of a laboratory report as well as basic measuring skills. During the experiment that I observed, students had to, in writing, define a purpose, formulate a hypothesis, explain their reasoning for the hypothesis, create a data table, formulate a graph from their data, write a conclusion, and answer multiple analysis questions. While the level of difficulty is certainly not that of a high school-level assignment, the same properties of a laboratory report are being presented, and many of these tasks are included on inquiries on standardized science exams. In order to strengthen the quality of the assignment, I personally would ask students to explain why the data they measured supports or refutes their hypothesis. This is one element that lacked in the assignment, and it forces students to critically think about why they even did the experiment in the first place. This is an important skill that they will need as they progress to the higher grades, so it is never too early to begin teaching it. When I become a teacher, science practices that I hope to stress in my classes are very similar to those presented in this type of experiment. I also hope to be able to teach students how to properly use laboratory equipment so that they genuinely feel like “real scientists” when they are performing experiments in the classroom. By emphasizing the authenticity of inquiry-based learning, I hope that my students will acknowledge the importance of science in the real world and come to enjoy my class.
Grade: 6th grade general science
Date of Visit: October 7, 2013
Observation/Reflection #3: A Matter of Style
Observe a laboratory activity or base your answer on past visits. How does your CT conduct a typical laboratory activity? How does he or she open the activity and organize student groups? How do students learn what they're expected to do during the period? Reflect on your reading about inquiry and your experience with the NECAP inquiry task. How did the laboratory activity you observe prepare students for the type of activities that might show up on the NECAP in the future? What inquiry elements would you strengthen? What science practices do you want to stress when you're teaching?
Observation:
When I arrived at Lincoln Middle School on this day, the students were finishing a week-long laboratory experiment that they had started during the previous week. The experiment involved using different types of paper to make paper airplanes, and then evaluating how well they flew based on the distance they traveled. The purpose of the experiment was to determine which type of paper was conducive to creating the “best” paper airplane. All of these instructions, as well as a guided laboratory report, were on a handout that the students were given the previous week when the activity started. This experiment was an exercise in measuring mass and distance, while also activating students’ creativity, as they were allowed to design and make the paper airplanes in any way that they chose. Students worked in groups of three in each of the four classes. The teacher uses a Web site that takes a class roster and randomly assigns them to groups. She said that this is, in her opinion, the best way to assign groups because it is 100% randomized and, as a result, the students rarely complain about with whom they are grouped. Once the students met with their groups, they did one of two activities: 1) finished testing their paper airplanes in the hallways or cafeteria, or 2) started graphing their data in the classroom. The groups went to their assigned locations and the teacher then walked between the various hallways, cafeteria, and the classroom monitoring the students. When I asked why the students were allowed to go to different areas of the school without constant supervision, the teacher explained that the new security systems in place at the school constitute a school resource officer that is constantly patrolling the halls as well as a sophisticated security camera system that monitors every hallway and common area in the building. Therefore, if the students misbehaved, they knew that they were on camera and would be immediately disciplined.
Reflection:
While I am a strong advocate for inquiry-based learning, I must admit that I have no experience with the NECAP inquiry task because I did not go to public school. However, after doing some research on these tasks, I can see that many of the tasks given in the past seem to mimic laboratory experiments while also incorporating skills in scientific literacy and mathematics. The experiment that I observed at Lincoln Middle School can prepare students for the type of inquiries that may show up on the NECAP in the future by teaching students the standard structure of a laboratory report as well as basic measuring skills. During the experiment that I observed, students had to, in writing, define a purpose, formulate a hypothesis, explain their reasoning for the hypothesis, create a data table, formulate a graph from their data, write a conclusion, and answer multiple analysis questions. While the level of difficulty is certainly not that of a high school-level assignment, the same properties of a laboratory report are being presented, and many of these tasks are included on inquiries on standardized science exams. In order to strengthen the quality of the assignment, I personally would ask students to explain why the data they measured supports or refutes their hypothesis. This is one element that lacked in the assignment, and it forces students to critically think about why they even did the experiment in the first place. This is an important skill that they will need as they progress to the higher grades, so it is never too early to begin teaching it. When I become a teacher, science practices that I hope to stress in my classes are very similar to those presented in this type of experiment. I also hope to be able to teach students how to properly use laboratory equipment so that they genuinely feel like “real scientists” when they are performing experiments in the classroom. By emphasizing the authenticity of inquiry-based learning, I hope that my students will acknowledge the importance of science in the real world and come to enjoy my class.